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Showing 9 of 84 news items in Green Finance & Economy

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 19, 2024

Zanzibar unveils a five-year National Action Plan to strengthen Health Security on the island.

Excerpt and Photo from afro.who.int In a landmark event underscoring its commitment to bolstering public health infrastructure and technical capacities, Zanzibar with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched its National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS). This comprehensive five-year strategy aims to fortify the island’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health emergencies, drawing on insights from the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities. The NAPHS, with a substantial budget of TZS 50.6 billion, marks a pivotal step in addressing the gaps identified by the JEE and implementing its key recommendations. The plan enhances Zanzibar’s health security through improved coordination among government ministries, relevant departments, and non-governmental organizations. In a speech read on his behalf, the Country Representative, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, articulated the significance of the plan: The launch of the NAPHS is a significant achievement. WHO is proud to support this crucial step towards a robust health security framework, addressing immediate needs and laying the groundwork for long-term resilience.”

Green Finance & EconomySeptember 6, 2024

Empowering Community Champions for Sustainable Development in RMI

Excerpt and Photo from undp.org The fourth Women and Youth Training for Gender Equality, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Water Safety Management has recently taken place at the University of the South Pacific’s campus in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). This vital training was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office through the Addressing Climate Vulnerability in the Water Sector (ACWA) project. The week-long capacity-building training aimed to empower women and youth with the knowledge and practices needed for climate-resilient water safety management in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). This training reinforces a commitment to enhancing RMI’s water security and community resilience against climate change impacts, especially women and youth, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Green Finance & EconomyAugust 26, 2024

How a “portfolio approach” sparked a blue and green shift in Mauritius

Photo: UNDP Mauritius/Stephane Bellerose. Retrieved from undp.org For decades, Mauritius relied on imported fossil fuels for electricity. More than 70 percent of its energy requirements are met by oil and gas, accounting for 62 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions. With the renewable energy mix at around 18 percent, plans are underway to ramp this up to 60 percent by 2030, with a goal to phase out coal in the generation of electricity at the same time. The country is on the way to a low-carbon economy, with job growth and reduced vulnerability to economic shocks. A large volume of greenhouse gas emissions came from the buildings sector in Mauritius, responsible for some 78 percent of electricity consumption. With more demand for housing and air conditioning, a 60 percent increase in energy consumption was predicted. The [Removal of Barriers to Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation in Buildings](https://www.thegef.org/projects-operations/projects/2241) project in Mauritius, funded by the GEF, tackled energy use in buildings. An Energy Efficiency Management Office was established and a tariff to guarantee a high price for renewable energy helped cut the cost of installing solar panels. An Energy Efficiency Act and the Building Control Act were passed, to raise awareness of the benefits of energy conservation and remove technical barriers.

Green Finance & EconomyAugust 16, 2024

Dominica hosts Caribbean Youth Forum on Environment and Development, promotes sustainability

Excerpt and Photo from writeups24.com Dominica is hosting the Caribbean Youth Forum on Environment and Development (CARYFED) with a vision to promote sustainable tourism by making optimum use of environmental resources and conserving natural heritage and biodiversity. This forum is running in the island nation from 7th August and will continue till 17th August 2024 under the theme “Sustainable Eco-Tourism in the Caribbean.” For the same, the Discover Dominica Authority has partnered with Project Discovery Dominica- PODOM for the successful execution of the [forum](https://writeups24.com/dominica-to-host-inaugural-oecs-youth-in-agriculture-symposium/). Project Discovery Dominica is the established local chapter of CARYFED that is dedicated to empowering pre-university students. It offers exciting opportunities for young people and are dedicated to nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and empowering the next generation of leaders across the island.

Green Finance & EconomyAugust 16, 2024

Atlantic Spaceport Consortium to Explore Azores Launch Facility

Excerpt and Photo from europeanspaceflight.com Portugal’s Atlantic Spaceport Consortium has signed a cooperation agreement with NAV Portugal to support commercial feasibility testing of building a launch facility on the island of Santa Maria. The Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) was founded in 2019 with the aim of building a commercial spaceport on the island of Santa Maria, approximately 1,500 kilometres off the coast of the Portuguese mainland. The consortium is entirely composed of the Portuguese companies Ilex Space and Optimal Structural Solutions. On 13 August, ASC announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with NAV Portugal, the country’s national air navigation service provider. NAV Portugal is responsible for managing and controlling air traffic within Portugal’s airspace. Under the cooperation agreement, the pair aim to define the guidelines that a future spaceport will need to adhere to when launching from Santa Maria. This includes defining exclusion zones, examining how to monitor and authorize launch activities, and studying under what conditions to impose partial or total launch restrictions for safety reasons.

Green Finance & EconomyAugust 5, 2024

Indonesia’s sea nomads turn to jobs on land

Excerpt and Photo from voanews.com Sofyan Sabi’s sea-dwelling community has fished beneath the waves off the Indonesian coast for centuries, but climate change and overfishing have forced him and many of his contemporaries on land to make a living. The Bajau tribe of fishermen led a nomadic life at sea for generations, spending days and nights on boats with thatched roofs in the waters between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Members of the tribe learn to dive from a young age, and their bodies have adapted over time to allow them to fish underwater for longer periods, researchers say. But for the hundreds of Bajau people living on the tiny boardwalk island village of Pulau Papan in Indonesia, their ancestors’ unique way of life has all but died out.

Green Finance & EconomyAugust 5, 2024

Empowering Pacific Island countries to advance their hydrological and water resources capacities

In a significant stride towards enhancing disaster preparedness and resilience in the Pacific, a pivotal workshop was held in Nadi, Fiji, aimed at initiating the Pacific Early Warning Systems for Flood and Flash Flood Guidance System projects. This workshop brought together representatives of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) from six countries—Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu—with the collective goal of establishing a robust, regional approach to managing and mitigating flood-related risks. The two projects are being supported by the United States Agency for International Development through its Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA). Floods including flash floods are recurrent threats in the Pacific region, often leading to significant loss of life and property. The workshop provided a platform for sharing knowledge and challenges in the Pacific for early warning systems. Experts in hydrology, meteorology, and disaster risk management engaged in discussions and breakout sessions, focusing on the development and implementation of the two projects tailored to the unique climatic and geographical conditions of the Pacific islands.

Green Finance & EconomyJune 28, 2024

Caribbean anti-corruption chiefs endorse AI solutions to tackle illicit financial flows

Excerpt and Photo from thecommonwealth.org **Heads of anti-corruption agencies in the Commonwealth Caribbean concluded their annual conference in Nassau, The Bahamas, last week with a unanimous pledge to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against corruption.** Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies was hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Bahamas Public Disclosure Commission as well as the Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies in the Commonwealth Caribbean, under the theme, **‘Best Practices in implementing Integrity and Anti-Corruption Laws in the Caribbean in the age of Artificial Intelligence’**. Towards the end, delegates from Commonwealth Caribbean countries also adopted a communiqué, outlining key priorities and recommendations for member countries to implement over the coming years. They also agreed to enhance collaboration at international, national, and regional levels to bolster anti-corruption efforts.

Green Finance & EconomyJune 21, 2024

Mauritius’ next growth phase: a new plan is needed as the tax haven era fades

Mauritians will head to the polls [by November 2024](https://africacenter.org/spotlight/2024-elections/mauritius/) and politicians are considering the economic direction of the island country. For the last two decades, the country’s economic growth has depended heavily on its offshore sector – the provision of financial services by banks to foreign firms. As an isolated country located in the south-western Indian Ocean, Mauritius has linked itself to global financial sectors by easing the flow of capital into and out of its economy. It has signed double taxation avoidance agreements with other countries, and its capital gains taxes are attractively low. Through double taxation avoidance agreements, foreign entities can establish funds in locations outside their home countries, to take advantage of lower taxes.